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Friday, April 29, 2011

Little Butt and I are starting to feel much better. Aaannnnddd...our house is shaping up quite nicely so far! Woohoo!!!

We still have a ways to go but I'm definitely happy with our progress thus far.

Today, for your reading pleasure, I have the funny and talented Sarah!

Sarah was one of the first bloggers that I found I had a lot in common with. We are both "older" bloggers (meaning we aren't in our 20's) and like she mentions, we both have an intense passion for books.

Sarah is one of the most wonderful and genuine people you will meet. Once you are done reading about her poor babies here, jump over to her blog and give her some love there.

Thanks again Sarah for stepping in and helping me out with my new house! ;-)

Howdy! My name is Sarah and I live over at Mowenackie where I am staying insane through reintegration, pets and other craziness. That used to read deployment in place of reintegration, but my husband recently returned home from his year-long assignment in Afghanistan. We’re now learning how to Live Together Again. Hooah.

I’m very excited to be guest blogging for the fabulous Maranda, who is navel-deep in the process of moving her pregnant self and the rest of her lovely family to a new home. My Camo Colored Life was one of the very first MilSpouse blogs I started following, way back in the day, and Maranda and I share a crazy love of books, books, books! (Just ask to see a glimpse of her sleeve tat sometime.)

I had originally planned to write a post on some of the pros and cons of the National Guard (okay, mostly cons) – a post I’d been planning for my own blog for some time – but my plans got a little derailed this evening.

You see, my cat Jackie (she puts the “ackie” in Mowenackie) had an appointment for a dental cleaning today. So this morning I loaded her and the dog in the car (Owen puts the “wen” in Mowenackie) and drove the half hour over to the vets. We dropped off Jackie and went merrily along with our day.

Round about three-thirty, we made our way back to the vet to pick up Jackie and get Owen his monthly joint-lubricating injection. It’s kind of funny to see Owen trying to hide from the vet in a room where there are no hiding places. But once he had finished his ostrich impersonation and pulled his head out from under the chair, we paid the rather hefty bill, collected the kitty and her antibiotics and headed for home again.

When we got there, Jackie seemed fine. Maybe a little wobbly from the sedation, but she looked like the normal, slender cat that she is.

About an hour later, her face was a little swollen, especially around the jowls. I chalked it up to the dental cleaning. A half hour after that, her shoulder was puffy, which I thought was weird, but still no big deal.

Doesn’t look good? First of all, thanks for scaring the ever-living crapola out of me. Secondly, “doesn’t look good” is up for the Understatement of the Year award.

My cat looked like the Incredible Hulk with fur. Her face, shoulders and back were grotesquely swollen. Her tongue was sticking out and at odd intervals she would wretch and spittle would fall out of her mouth.

I immediately called my neighbor, who used to be a vet tech. She took one look and said, “Have you called your vet?”

I got on the phone. We all assumed it was some sort of reaction to either the anesthesia or a medication she’d been given. I was afraid her throat might close up. The vet’s emergency service said to bring her down right away.

As I started to get her ready to go, I noticed that her head was not only puffy, but crackly. It would actually snap and pop when I pet her. It was the most bizarre feeling.

By nine-thirty p.m. we were headed back to the vet’s, for the third time in one day. When we arrived, I mentioned Jackie’s bubble-headedness. You could actually see the light bulb going off in the vet’s brain.

“Aha!” she said. “She’s got subcutaneous emphysema.”

What?

That doesn’t sound good.

The vet went on to explain that sometimes when a cat is tubed, it can tear the trachea, causing air bubbles to get under the skin. Eventually, the tear will heal itself (unless it is very bad), but until then the cat will likely be uncomfortable because of the air pressure.

Wouldn’t you be? It looks like someone blew her up with a bicycle pump. My cat is a furry piece of bubble wrap.

Poor girl.

All we can do is wait. And occasionally pop her bubbles.

At any rate, we didn’t get home until after ten o’clock, which is why the National Guard pro/con post didn’t get written. Maybe I’ll get it up on Mowenackie sometime in the near future. I hope you’ll stop by and visit.

In the meantime, tell me: What the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to one of your pets?

Little Butt and I are starting to feel much better. Aaannnnddd...our house is shaping up quite nicely so far! Woohoo!!!

We still have a ways to go but I'm definitely happy with our progress thus far.

Today, for your reading pleasure, I have the funny and talented Sarah!

Sarah was one of the first bloggers that I found I had a lot in common with. We are both "older" bloggers (meaning we aren't in our 20's) and like she mentions, we both have an intense passion for books.

Sarah is one of the most wonderful and genuine people you will meet. Once you are done reading about her poor babies here, jump over to her blog and give her some love there.

Thanks again Sarah for stepping in and helping me out with my new house! ;-)

Howdy! My name is Sarah and I live over at Mowenackie where I am staying insane through reintegration, pets and other craziness. That used to read deployment in place of reintegration, but my husband recently returned home from his year-long assignment in Afghanistan. We’re now learning how to Live Together Again. Hooah.

I’m very excited to be guest blogging for the fabulous Maranda, who is navel-deep in the process of moving her pregnant self and the rest of her lovely family to a new home. My Camo Colored Life was one of the very first MilSpouse blogs I started following, way back in the day, and Maranda and I share a crazy love of books, books, books! (Just ask to see a glimpse of her sleeve tat sometime.)

I had originally planned to write a post on some of the pros and cons of the National Guard (okay, mostly cons) – a post I’d been planning for my own blog for some time – but my plans got a little derailed this evening.

You see, my cat Jackie (she puts the “ackie” in Mowenackie) had an appointment for a dental cleaning today. So this morning I loaded her and the dog in the car (Owen puts the “wen” in Mowenackie) and drove the half hour over to the vets. We dropped off Jackie and went merrily along with our day.

Round about three-thirty, we made our way back to the vet to pick up Jackie and get Owen his monthly joint-lubricating injection. It’s kind of funny to see Owen trying to hide from the vet in a room where there are no hiding places. But once he had finished his ostrich impersonation and pulled his head out from under the chair, we paid the rather hefty bill, collected the kitty and her antibiotics and headed for home again.

When we got there, Jackie seemed fine. Maybe a little wobbly from the sedation, but she looked like the normal, slender cat that she is.

About an hour later, her face was a little swollen, especially around the jowls. I chalked it up to the dental cleaning. A half hour after that, her shoulder was puffy, which I thought was weird, but still no big deal.

Doesn’t look good? First of all, thanks for scaring the ever-living crapola out of me. Secondly, “doesn’t look good” is up for the Understatement of the Year award.

My cat looked like the Incredible Hulk with fur. Her face, shoulders and back were grotesquely swollen. Her tongue was sticking out and at odd intervals she would wretch and spittle would fall out of her mouth.

I immediately called my neighbor, who used to be a vet tech. She took one look and said, “Have you called your vet?”

I got on the phone. We all assumed it was some sort of reaction to either the anesthesia or a medication she’d been given. I was afraid her throat might close up. The vet’s emergency service said to bring her down right away.

As I started to get her ready to go, I noticed that her head was not only puffy, but crackly. It would actually snap and pop when I pet her. It was the most bizarre feeling.

By nine-thirty p.m. we were headed back to the vet’s, for the third time in one day. When we arrived, I mentioned Jackie’s bubble-headedness. You could actually see the light bulb going off in the vet’s brain.

“Aha!” she said. “She’s got subcutaneous emphysema.”

What?

That doesn’t sound good.

The vet went on to explain that sometimes when a cat is tubed, it can tear the trachea, causing air bubbles to get under the skin. Eventually, the tear will heal itself (unless it is very bad), but until then the cat will likely be uncomfortable because of the air pressure.

Wouldn’t you be? It looks like someone blew her up with a bicycle pump. My cat is a furry piece of bubble wrap.

Poor girl.

All we can do is wait. And occasionally pop her bubbles.

At any rate, we didn’t get home until after ten o’clock, which is why the National Guard pro/con post didn’t get written. Maybe I’ll get it up on Mowenackie sometime in the near future. I hope you’ll stop by and visit.

In the meantime, tell me: What the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to one of your pets?